It can be appreciated that welding carts have been around for years. These carts typically have two wheels and some have compartments for holding welding machinery, tools and gas/oxygen bottles.
Traditional welding carts are mainly two-wheeled, and pulled in and around welding shops or transported inside work truck beds and on utility-type towing trailers to job site locations.
An example of a prior art cart is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,116,623 with the title “Dual Cylinder Cart With Firewall Divider” issued Sep. 12, 2000 to Frank S. Salvucci. While being functional for its intended purpose which is to provide a firewall for two cylinders, it has not been designed to travel across rocky terrain, lacks independent suspension and makes no provision for dedicated tool holders nor is there space for hauling equipment.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,109,644 “Utility Wagon” issued Aug. 29, 2000 to Lem L. Cox discloses a wagon having a universal base upon which can be mounted a different chassis, it is not specifically designed for a gas cylinder or welder unit setup. This wagon has no rotating base under and supporting the welding unit nor are there dedicated tool holders or independent suspension. It would not be workable for the purpose of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,693,286 “Cart Mounting A Welding Torch Or Cutting Torch” issued Dec. 2, 1997 to Isamu Htanaka, Yariaki Kaneko and Kenichi Nezu shows a welding cart designed to run on a guide track and not specifically designed to hold a gas cylinder nor is there independent suspension allowing it to traverse rough terrain.
U.S. Pat. D322,501 “Welding Cart” issued Dec. 17, 1991 to Timothy J. Legault is an all-purpose carrying cart that is workable for the purpose intended but does not have four wheels, independent suspension, nor the ability to carry a bottle and welding unit. It would not in its present state be capable of traveling on rough terrain.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,778,154 “Welding Torch Carriage” issued Oct. 18, 1988 to Crespin Cortez, Jr. discloses a cart specifically designed to hold a welding torch in a chosen welder line. Though workable for its intended purpose, it would not be workable when compared to the present invention since the carriage does not have independent suspension, lacks four wheels, makes no provision for a gas bottle and is therefore limited to the purpose it was designed for.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,174,736 “Carriage For Cutting Torches” issued Apr. 20, 1962 to E. H. Cameron discloses a cart that has been specifically designed to hold a welding torch in a fixed carriage. In contrast to the present invention, it provides no space to carry a gas bottle, is limited to where it can be used, nor does it have four wheels with pneumatic tires or an independent suspension which limits it's ability to be moved over rough terrain, nor does it provide equipment storage area and tool holders.
To overcome the above mentioned inadequacies, the present invention has an independent suspension system making the cart capable of traveling across a variety of terrains either by being manually pulled by a handle connected to the suspension system making it easy to control cart direction or by an interchangeable tow hitch which can replace the manual towing handle allowing the cart to be mounted onto a tow receiver and quickly driven away. Due to the cart's ground clearance, size of wheels and pneumatic tires, it can travel most terrains usually unavailable to standard welding carts.
In these respects, the present invention substantially departs from conventional concepts and designs shown in the prior art, and in so doing the present invention provides a new and unique invention primarily developed to provide independent suspension and steering capability.